Wood slicing machine



July 21, 1931. DE WITT c. HAWORTH 1,815,670

WOOD SLIGING MACHINE Filed Nov. 26, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 %ga .Za 4

I IN VEN TOR. 19. C HAM/04' 7w A TTORNE YS.

y 1931. DE WITT c. HAWORTH 1,815,670

WOOD SLICING MACHINE Filed Nov. 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTOR NE YS.

' IN VENTOR. 0. 6 HAWO PTH 15750 I flzg a 25 A further object of Patented July 21, 1931 UNrrsn ssra'res PATENT OFFICE iinwicnr o. HAWOR'III-IQ or BANDomoREGoN, ASSIGNOR or ONE-FOURTH T CHARLES DAVIS, onn-rpunen TO 0. L. znurnnn, or nannon, QREGGN, aim- ONE-FOURTH T0 J. '1'. SULLIVAN,O1" MARSHFIELD, OREGON WOOD SLICING MACHINE My invention relates to-improvements in wood slicing machines, and it consists in the combinations, constructions and arrangements hereinafter described and claimed.

. An object of my invention is to. provide a Wood slicing machine which is kept at a uniform temperature while cutting veneer, thus preventing an otherwise inevitable stressing and warping of the parts by reason of partial 1o heating at points in contact with the hot blocks being cut. It is to be understood that the blocks from which the veneer is out are preheated, and one of the purposes of the present machine is to keep the temperature of these blocks and the cutting elements even during the entire cutting operation.

No originally'fixed position of the various parts could be maintained without this feature. The alignments of the knife, the pressurebars, and other parts of the machine are constantly changed in position if the temperature at the center of the device is high and at the more remote parts is lower due to the gradual radiation of heat.

my invention is to provide a device of the type described in which the knife, knife bar, stop bar, pressure bar, and adjusting appliances are mounted upon a single sliding frame that reciprocates on nected to the feeding device. so as to automatically control the latter.

The device has a micrometer screw control for governing the thickness of the cuts. This control is'readily adjustable even while the machine is in operation, and permits a more accurate cutting to within one one-thouandth of an inch. Quick and accurate adjustment is most desirable following up the varying hardnesses inherent in any woods. It is further to be noted that the machine has a maximum of accessibility, enabling the operator to load the feedtable, adjust for thickness and pressure, and inspect the entire machine while the latter is in operation.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds, and the novel features will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accomguidebars. The reciprocating frame 1s conpanying drawings forming a part of this ap- I plication, in which 7 Figure 1 is a top plan view of the device;

Figure 2 is a front elevation;

Figure 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4; is an end elevation of a part of the device;

Figure 5 is an end elevation of another part ofthe device; 1

Figures 6 and are sections along the lines 66 and 7-7 of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a plan view of a part of the device; and

Fig. 9 is a section along the line 99 of Fig ure 8.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a main frame 1 that carries a block-supporting bed 2 (see Figure Blocks 3 are placed upon a bed 2 and are urged toward a cutting mechanism by a feeding mechanism.

Thismechanism comprises a bar 4 that has a rack 5 secured thereto. A pinion 6 meshes with the rack, and this pinion is actuated by a shaft 7 (see Figure 1). The shaft is manually turned by means of the crank 9 oris turned in one direction by means of a rope 1O that ha s one end secured to a pulley 11 mounted upon the shaft 7 and its other end connected to a weight 12. Figure 3 clearly shows how the weight 12 tends to rotate the pulley 11 and the shaft 7 for advancing the feed bar 4.

The shaft 7 may be locked against rotative movement by means of a'manually controlled latch 13 (see Figure 1). This latch engages with teeth on a ratchet 14 that is keyed to the shaft 7. The shaft is carried by bearings that in turn are connected to the main frame 1.

The feed bar 41 carries a head 15, and the latter has a block 16 secured thereto that in turn engages with the blocks 3. The feed bar is guided in a bearing 17, and this hearing prevents lateral movement of the bar.

I have already stated how the blocks 3 are urged toward a cutting mechanism, and I will now describe this mechanism in detail. Beference to Figure 2 shows the front of the mainframe 1 as carrying guide shafts 18 and 19. These shafts extend at an angle, and are secured in place by supports 20 and 21. A sliding frame 22 has integral sleeves 23 and 24 that are slidably mounted on the shafts 18 and 19 respectively. The frame 22 is oscillated by a connecting rod 25 and an eccentric 26.

In F i gure 1, I show the eccentric as being mounted-upon a shaft 27. and the latter is connected to one member of a clutch 28 by means of bevel gears 29. The other member of the clutch is connected to a pulley 30. and the latter is driven by means of a motor 31 through the medium of a belt 32. A hand lever 33 throws the clutch into and out of engagement. and in this way the movement of the frame 22 is controlled.

The sliding frame 22 carries a knife bar 34 and a stop bar 35 (see Figures 2 and The knife bar and stop bar are made hollow and are designed to receive steam. whereby these members are kept at a predetermined temperature. Figure 2 shows steam pipes 36 and 37 as euter n the members and The knife l ar i has an outlet opening 38 for permittin steam to pass therefrom, while the stop bar has an opening 39 for a similar purpose.

The kn fe bar carries a knife 40 (see Figure This knife is designed to cut a strip of veneer off from the block 3 as the sliding frame 22 is moved downwardly. The knife is positioned with respect to the concave surface 41 of the knife bar 34 so that the strip of veneer will be moved outwardly as the latter is cut. It should be noted that the entire length of the knife contacts with the knife bar. and therefore the former will be kept at the same temperatur as the latter, and this temperature will be uniform throughout the entire length of the knife.

The stop bar 35 adjustable with respect to the knife 40 so that very thin pieces of veneer may be cut from the block. The adjusting" mechanism is shown in Figures 4 to 9 inclusive. It will be noted from Figure 4 that the stop bar is triangular-shaped in cross section as shown by the dotted lines, and that this bar has end pieces 42 that are semi-disc shaped. The disc-shaped ends carry gudgeons 43. and the latt r in turn are ro tatably mounted in openings 44 in shifting plate 45 (note the shape of the plates in Figures 8 and 9). The plates 45 support the stop bar and permit a rocking movement between the bar and the plates so that the front face 46 of the bar may be vertically aligned.

The shiftin 45 slid ably mounted in brackets 47 clearly shown in Figure 6. Each bracket 47 is angular in shape and has one face bearing against the end 42 and ano her face or f-..- e 48 er zten ing at right angles thereto. F a e 7 shows how the fiance .6 is clamped to the |l(..l!l fI frame 22 bv means of a clamp 49 and a cap screw 50. In this way the stop bar 35 is supported by the sliding frame 22.

Each angle bracket 47 has a guideway 51 (see Figure 6) for slidably receiving the shifting plate 45, as already stated, the plate carries the stop bar 35, and therefore a movement of the plate in the guideway 51 will move the face 46 further away from the knife 40 so as to vary the thickness of the cut.

I accomplish a micrometer adjustment of the face 46 with respect to the knife 40 by means of the mechanism shown in detail in Figures 5, 6 and 7. It will be noted from Figures 1 and 2 that a crank rod 52 extends throughout the length of the stop bar 35 and is provided with a crank handle 53. The rod is supported in two housings 54 as shown in detail in Figures 5 and 6 and these housings enclose worms 55 carried by the rod and worm gears 56. Figure 7 shows how each worm gear 56 is mounted upon a screw 57 and is locked in place by a nut 58.

The screw 57 is passed through a collar 59 carried by the angle bracket 47. An adjustable thrust collar 60 is mounted upon the screw 57 and bears against the collar 59, whereby the collar 60 and the hub of the worm gear 56 prevent longitudinal movepient of the screw 57 with respect to the col- .ar 59.

The screw 57 has a threaded portion that is received in a nut 61 carried by the shifting plate 45 (see Figure 9). A turning of the worm gear 56 will rotate the screw 57 for 1 moving the shifting plate 45 and the stop bar toward or away from the knife 40. The ratio between the number of turns of the rod 52 and the screw 57 is 500 to 1, thus permit ting a very fine micrometer adjustment to be effected.

The angle bracket 47 has slots 62 therein (see Figure 5) for receiving cap screws 63 that in turn are threaded into openings 64 (see Figure 4) in the end pieces 42. There is enough play between the cap-screws and the slots 62 to permit angular adjustment of the face 46.

This adjustment is effected by set screws 65 (see Figure 5) that are passed through openings 66 (see Figure 4) in projections 67 carried by the ends 42. The projections; 67 straddle a portion 68 (see Figure 9) carried by the shifting plate 45. This construction permits the set screws 65 to be rotated for rocking the ends 42 with respect to the shifting plates 45 and thereby swing the face 46 into vertical position.

The entire stop bar 35 may be raised or lowered, with respect to the sliding frame 22 by means of set screws 69 that bear against the angle brackets 47, and are carried by projections 70 integral with the frame 22 (see li ie'ure 5).

The stop bar 35 carries a pressure bar 71 (see Figure 5), and this bar slightly overall) lzu

hangs the face 46 for the purpose of keeping the cut portion of the veneer up against the surface 41 of the knife bar 34, and thus prevent the breaking of the veneer. The pressure bar 71 is adjusted by means of adjusting screws 72 shown in Figure 3, and is locked in adjusted position by means of a pressure bar clamp 73. The clamp in turn is held against movement by lock screws 74, and Figure 4 shows a threaded recess 75 for receiving the screws. Figure 4 further shows a surface 7 6 for supporting the pressure bar 71.

During the operation of the machine, I provide means for holding the blocks 3 against movement during the cutting operation and for permitting the feeding mechanism to advance the blocks during the return movement of the knife. This means is shown in Figures 2 and 3, and it will be noted from Figure 2 that a clamp bar head 77 has an upright 78 that passes through a guide bracket 79. A spring 80 is disposed on the upright and bears against the bracket 79. This spring holds the clamp 77 down upon the blocks 3. The tension of the spring is adjusted at will by means of a nut 81 that is mounted upon a threaded portion of the upright 78 and bears against the bottom of the spring. It is ob vious thatany other suitable means of varying the tensionof the spring may be utilized without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. i

The clamping head 77 is automatically raised as the sliding frame 22 nears the end of its return stroke. This raising of the head 77 is accomplished by a clamp bar lever '82 (see Figure 2). The lever contacts with the upper edge of the frame 22 as the latter is moved upwardly and is swung by the frame. Figure 2 shows the lever as being connected to the upright 78, and therefore the upright will be lifted and will lift the clamping head 77 free from the blocks 3. The weighted feed bar 4 will now move the blocks up against the face 46 ready for the next cut,

The lever 82 may be manually moved for inserting a new block, and this is accomplished by means of a manually controlled lever 83 shown in Figures 1 and 2, this lever being connected to the lever 82 by means of a chain 84.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood.

The feed bar 4 is retracted and is held in position by means of the latch 13. Blocks 3, previously heated to the desired temperature, are placed upon the bed 2, and then the latch 13 is released for permitting the feed bar to engage with the blocks and to move them toward the cutter. The crank 53 is rotated so as to determine the thickness of the veneer to be cut, and then the sliding frame 22 is set into motion. From this point on, the device is practically automatic,and willcut pieces of the blocks toward a cutting mechanism, a stop for limiting the movement of the blocks, a cutting knife associated with said stop forcutting pieces of veneer from the blocks, and means for uniformly heating the entire knife and the stop.

2. A wood slicing machine comprising a support for blocks of wood, a movable stop, means for feeding the wood against the stop, a knife associated with said stop, means for simultaneously moving said knife and stop, and means for uniformly heating the entire knife and stop.

3. In a wood slicing machine, a sliding frame, a knife and a stop carried by said frame, and heating ackets extending throughout the entire lengths of the knife and stop and contacting therewith.

4. Awood slicing machine comprising a platform for supporting wood, a cutter carrying frame, a cutter and a stop carried by said frame, means for uniformly heating the entire lengths of said cutter and stop, means for moving the wood toward the frame, and means for reciprocating the frame so that the wood will continuously contact with either the heated cutter or the heated stop.

5. A wood slicing machine comprising a support for blocks of wood, a knife movable with respect to the wood for cutting pieces of veneer therefrom, a steam acket covering one entire side of the knife, and flexible steam conveying conduits leading to the jacket for keeping the entire side of the knife at a uniform temperature.

7 6. In a wood slicing machine, a bed for supporting blocks, a movable frame, a cutter and a stop carried by the frame, a spring-pressed clamp yieldingly engaging with the block being cut, a bell crank lever operatively connected to the clamp and having its other end disposed in the path of the moving frame for freeing the block at the completion of the cutting and the return stroke, and yielding means for advancing the block against the stop when the clamp is disengaged from the block.

7. in a machine for slicing a block of wood, a movable frame, aknife carried thereby, a stop carried by the frame, the face of the stop being disposed parallel with the face of the knife, micrometer means for adjusting the stop and including stop carrying supports movable at angles to the wonlcing face ofthe stop, screws tonmovin-g the supports,

Worm gears for rotating said screws, .ashaifit wormscamried bysa-id shaftand meshing with the Worm goats, and a handle for actuating the shaft.

\8. .A Wood slicing machine comprising za platform for supporting Work, a cutten, a stop, means for uniformly heating the entire lengths 01 said cutter and stop, means for moving the worktoward the cutter and stop, andmeans for moving thecutter and stop for causing the Work to continuously contact with either 'the heated vcutter or the heated stop.

9. As-licing machine for articles compris ing a support for the article, .a stop adapted to have the article abutted thereagaiznst, a cutter for removing slices from the article,

and means for unifonmly heating the cutter and the stop.

it). At-slioing machine 01 ,antic-les-con pnising a support tor the articles, (a stop adapted to have articlesabutted therea-gainst, a cutter associated with the stop for removing slices inomttheantio'le, means for uniformly heating the cutterandthe stop, and means for moving the cutter andzstop ,for causim-g the articles to continuously contact with either the heated 7 cutter or the heated stop.

DE XUITT HAWORTH. 

